Steel Hearts
by Panhead20
Summary: Shiro the Black Paladin has long been heralded as the greatest knight in all the kingdom. What happens when a mysterious knight beats him and claims the title instead? Cover image made by misterunagi on tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

**Steel Hearts**

 **Summary: Shiro the Black Paladin has long been heralded as the greatest knight in all the kingdom. What happens when a mysterious knight beats him and claims the title instead?**

 **Author's Note: OK! So, this is my new profile, which I created after some….issues over on my old one. This is my first story on this account, and I've decided I'm gonna write stuff for Voltron: Legendary Defender. Awesome show, btw, go check it out. Anyway, this story is based on a prompt for a Medieval AU suggested by letshirorest on tumblr, which I saw and absolutely could not resist. Just a (very long) oneshot for the moment, could and probably will expand into a multi-chap fic.**

 **A few more notes on this universe before we begin: Magic and quintessence both exist, and all the Paladins make use of them with enchanted armor and weapons. Shiro's arm is an intricate mechanical device that has been powered by said magic. In addition, King Alfor is alive, but very ill, and on his death bed. Oh, and Voltron is…god, basically?**

Shiro watched out his window as the tournament began, first two knights coming together in a mighty clash of steel on steel. With any luck, their match would last a few minutes, giving him the time he needed to finish pulling on his armor.

That's right, Sir Shiro, the Black Paladin and Champion of Altea, was running late. Why, he could not be sure, only knowing that he may have been, in fact, a little nervous about facing his fellow Paladins. They had all improved tremendously in the short time he had known them, and while he was quite confident in his abilities, a nagging thought reminded him that this could indeed be the day that he first lost a match.

He quickly finished donning his black armor, the Altean Lion coat of arms proudly displayed across his chest. His hand lingered for a moment over his left arm; he had lost it in a fight against the vile Emperor Zarkon some years ago, and through King Alfor's magic and the skilled craftsmen of Altea, a replacement had been built. Now his arm, a masterful fusion of mystic power and intricate mechanics, was his greatest strength—and a constant reminder of his greatest defeat.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud crash. Checking the window, he saw that one of the knights—one of the newly liberated Balmeran soldiers, it appeared—had emerged victorious. Cursing slightly under his breath, Shiro pulled his helmet on and quickly made his way down to the tournament field.

As he approached, he saw his four fellow Paladins gathered in the staging area. The smallest of them, dressed in green, turned and saw him growing near, and greeted him.

"Hey Shiro! Ready to kick everyone's asses again?" This was Sir Pidge, of the noble House Holt, known as The Savant among her peers.

Shiro had to crack a smile at that one. "Voltron willing, of course."

"Don't even doubt yourself Shiro, none of these guys even stand a chance." This reply came from the knight in red, Sir Keith, called Blazeheart for his flaming sword, and even more fiery temper.

"Oh, I don't know Keith. I've been training _quite_ a bit, I think I could take 'im." The blue knight shot back. That was Sir Lance, confident as always, and known by his former title, Guard of the North.

"Sure Lance, and I bet you'll steal all the women from us too." The final knight in yellow responded dryly. The last Paladin, Sir Hunk the Unshakable, so called for his indomitable body, will, and spirit.

"Hey enough you guys, get ready to fight." Shiro interrupted, though you could hear he was smiling behind his helmet. As the other knight separated to prepare, he went to go check the roster. He recognized most of the names, thought a few were strangers, and of those, one stood out as odd. Whoever had signed this spot had not even given a name—they were simply listed as "visiting knight."

This was odd, but not entirely unheard of, so Shiro let it go. He had a fight to prepare for, after all.

. . . . .

The sun had made its way high into the sky before Shiro found himself facing one of his fellow Paladins—Sir Lance, to be exact. He analyzed his opponent while the announcer spoke.

"This bout will pit two of Altea's greatest warriors against each other! On this end, Sir Lance, Blue Paladin and Guard of the North! And on the other, Sir Shiro, Black Paladin, and Champion of Altea!" The crowd cheered loudly at Shiro's name, as they had all morning. The Paladin smiled within his helmet and saluted the crowd in gratitude before advancing into the field of combat.

Sir Lance was renowned for his ranged skills—he carried a crossbow that was enchanted to freeze his targets. He was, however, weak in melee combat, a weakness Shiro knew well. As the Blue Paladin fired his first bolt, Shiro had already set his plan in motion.

He angled his shield and the magic infused bolt was deflected into the fence, where it froze the wood around it. Before Lance could redraw his crossbow, Shiro quickly and ruthlessly advanced, forcing the blue knight to draw his backup weapon. From there, it was relatively easy to disarm him and force him to yield.

As the defeated Lance slunk back into the staging area, it was easy to see Keith laughing uproariously at his misfortune. The black knight smirked as Hunk shut him up with a stiff elbow to the side, then withdrew to prepare for his next bout. By this point, there were very few fighters left—The five Paladins (now minus Lance), a formidable Balmeran named Shay, a sleazy looking mercenary called Rolo, and the mysterious "visiting knight" made up the final eight. The next few fights saw Hunk trounce Rolo, a well fought bout in which Keith emerged victorious over Shay, and a short but fierce battle that saw Pidge eliminated at the hands of the mystery fighter, despite her armor's power of invisibility.

Shiro was intrigued by this knight—they had somehow managed to last this long without using any sort of magical augmentation, and had even defeated one of the Paladins themselves. Few knights could claim that anywhere in the world, but this figure clearly was not one of those few. Coran was too old now, and spent his days as regent tending to the ailing King Alfor. Zarkon himself, or his druid witch Haggar rounded out the list, neither of which made any sense. It was a mystery all right, one complicated even more as Shiro watched their fight with Keith.

It began well enough; Keith's greatsword was enchanted with magical flames, which kept most opponents at bay. For a few moments, the stranger hesitated, but after dodging the red knight's first strike, they seemed to come to an understanding. The stranger continued to doge and evade, never engaging Keith directly but slowly leading and baiting him towards the edge of the arena. Shiro saw her plan an instant before it was set into motion, and cringed sympathetically as the mysterious knight upended the horses' trough on Keith, extinguishing his sword and distracting him long enough to be disarmed.

Shiro frowned slightly—that was it then. Assuming he could beat Hunk (and while he respected the man's abilities, he _would_ beat him), he would be facing this mysterious knight in the championship round, and from the looks of it, would be having quite the fight.

He shook the thoughts away—he couldn't be distracted by them for this round. Hunk was a strong opponent, with enchanted armor and a shield that allowed him to withstand any blow. While he was weaker offensively, those who fell into the short range of his heavy mace would find themselves at his mercy. Brute force wouldn't work here—he'd need to use speed and agility.

"Once more, two of Altea's own Paladins face off!" The announcer bellowed as Hunk and Shiro took their positions. "The Yellow Paladin, Sir Hunk the Unshakeable, against your Champion, the Black Paladin Sir Shiro!"

Shiro saw Hunk brace himself for the attack that would be coming. _Good move_ , the black knight thought _but that's not the plan_. Drawing his sword, he charged at the stationary knight as if to strike, but at the last minute feinted left, dove right, and bashed his fellow Paladin's helmet with his shield as he turned around. Distracted, Hunk swung but missed with his mace, and quickly found himself disarmed and at Shiro's mercy.

"And the Black Paladin wins again!" The announcer cried over the roar of the crowd. "Now, we will prepare for the final round; Sir Shiro versus the Visiting Knight of Erus!"

Shiro helped Hunk up. All four of his teammates had performed admirably, as he'd be sure to let them know after this bout. He pulled off his helmet and brushed his hair out of his face while he sized up his opponent. Oddly, he was sure he hadn't seen their helmet come off all day, or even heard their voice. Even now, as they sat and awaited the start of the round, the knight simply sat, still in full armor, with their hands folded across their lap. Their armor was plain steel, lacking any coats of arms or other distinguishing marks. All in all, it was quite mysterious.

Shiro freed his head of his concerns and put his helmet back on. Victory should be the only thing on his mind; he could worry about his mystery opponent later. As he entered the arena again, he thought about what he had observed already. His opponent was clearly highly skilled, and very perceptive, to have taken down Pidge with her invisibility. They were also clearly quite intelligent, knowing to avoid fighting Keith and his superior swordplay entirely. Beyond that, he knew little. All he could do was go for the typical approach and hope for the best.

"The final round begins…now!" The announcer cried again, and for a few tense moments, both knights dared not to move a muscle. After several intensely quiet seconds, they both charged simultaneously. Their swords met in a tremendous clash of steel, and Shiro was shocked by the massive strength the stranger had put behind the blow. He stepped away to the left and lunged towards them, only to be deflected by their shield. They counter attacked and Shiro managed to block their strike as well.

This went on for several minutes—each knight met each other, blow for blow, with neither landing a significant blow or taking some kind of advantage. The two broke apart after this skirmish and eyed each other like two mighty predators. Suddenly, the mystery knight charged, bringing their sword down towards Shiro, who blocked it quickly with his shield. Before the Black Paladin could react, they swung their sword in a large arc towards his midsection, which he barely managed to escape by jumping away.

A clatter drew his eyes to the ground—that sweeping blow had actually cut the straps holding his shield to his arm. His eyes widened in alarm, and he barely had time to react when the stranger attacked with another fierce blow. With only a split second to think, Shiro reacted instinctively, grabbing the sword's blade with his metal hand, which seemed to surprise his opponent. Shiro smirked in triumph, but before he could move the stranger smashed him in the face with their shield, knocking him unconscious.

Shiro awoke seconds later to the stunned silence of the crowd. Even the announcer had gone quiet. "It appears…Sir Shiro has been eliminated." He said in disbelief. "The Visiting Knight…wins?"

Shiro sat up and pulled his helmet off, himself in disbelief. Before he could get up, however, the strange knight spoke. Their voice, which echoed in their helm and took on a metallic note, was distinctly feminine—and incredibly familiar.

"I must apologize to the crowd, for I am not a visiting knight from Erus." The knight said as they pulled off their helmet. "You may know me as Princess Allura of Altea."

Shiro's jaw dropped, as did those of most of the crowd. Princess Allura was Alfor's daughter, that much was well known, but due to the fierce war between the Galra and Altea, she had spent most of her life holed up in the mighty Castle of Lions, and had rarely been seen by anyone. She was, simply put, the most beautiful woman Shiro had ever seen. As she let down her hair and let it flow over the shoulders of her armor, the Paladin felt his face heating up and he was tempted to pull his helmet back on.

"Sir Shiro." The princess's angelic voice interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up to see her offering her hand—she was even more beautiful up close. "You fought very well. I applaud you." Now blushing madly, Shiro had no choice but to take her hand and let her help him up. He wasn't even upset about being beaten by her now—he'd fight and lose to her again in a heartbeat if she had said she wanted him to.

"T-thank you Princess." He stammered, quickly bowing and saluting her. "Had I known it was you…"

"Oh nonsense, if you had known it was me you wouldn't have tried." She cut him off. "I tire of being babied by my father and servants. Hence why I entered this tournament in disguise."

"Oh…of course Your Majesty, that's…very admirable, actually."

The princess laughed and Shiro felt he could've died happily right then and there. To say she sounded like an angel would've been insultingly underselling it. "I feel my father would disagree, but thank you for saying so Sir. Speaking of which, I must take my leave before the castle guard come to hunt me down. Thank you, Sir Shiro, and all of you Paladins, for a very exciting day."

Allura quickly returned to her horse in the stables and rode off towards the Castle of Lions, leaving a very confused crowd, a group of disbelieving Paladins, and very love-struck Shiro in her wake.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank god it's finally summer so here's an update! Enjoy watching Shiro get fuckin rekt with love for everyone's favorite princess.**

 **Chapter 2**

Once Shiro had returned to his room, he put a pitiable effort into pulling off his armor before flopping onto his bed without even bothering with his greaves or sabatons. It seemed pointless to deal with them now.

"…shit." He mumbled into his pillow. It was all he could really say about what had happened today.

He wasn't even upset about his loss—he had fought as well as he could, and his opponent had been admirable. He was sure the other Paladins were more disturbed by his defeat than he was.

No, he was upset by the actual angel that was King Alfor's daughter, who had finally appeared from wherever she had been hiding, apparently for the sole purpose of kicking his ass on the most public stage in the kingdom. And it was less "upsetting" and more "completely unbelievable." The only person he'd have been more surprised to see under that helmet was Emperor Zarkon himself. Although even that would have been less flustering.

And that feeling itself was a whole other problem. Who could've known that the princess who had last been seen as a small child would've matured into, without any exaggeration, the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, who also happened to be the best fighter in Altea—better than him even, as the tournament today had clearly demonstrated.

With a groan, he finally rolled out of bed and finished pulling off the rest of his armor. Most of the other knights had squires to help them with that sort of thing, but he'd never found someone young enough that really clicked with him. Slav, the Royal Engineer and a master craftsman, stopped by occasionally to help tune up his…less authentic arm, but for everyday tasks he could only rely on himself.

Once he had stripped down to the padded arming coat he wore beneath his combat armor, he began redressing in his ceremonial armor- a heavy plate made entirely of solid silver, and intricately decorated by the finest artisans of the kingdom. No expense spared for the armor of Altea's Champion, of course. Or, former Champion at least.

That being done, he pulled on his surcoat—black silk threaded with more silver, of course—just in time for the knock on his door from a servant reminding him that the post-tournament feast was starting soon. However, unlike the usual, it was quickly followed by a very familiar voice.

"Sir Shiro? May I come in?"

The knight in question blanched and almost went into a coughing fit. He knew the princess wasn't so rude as to skip out on the night's festivities, but he hadn't expected to have to face her until dinner. But here she was, in his own rooms no less, and he was woefully unprepared.

"O-of course Your Grace! Come on in!"

And just like that, there she was. If she had been beautiful in her armor, she was positively ethereal in the flowing white dress, which seemed to float around her in a glowing corona of silk and light. Shiro was at a complete loss for words.

"I came to see if you were ready for the feast." The princess said as she approached, although Shiro was barely in a state to comprehend her. "After all, it's only right for the princess to escort the kingdom's champion." She continued with a giggle that almost caused the poor man to pass out.

After a second to regain his composure and a darkening of his cheeks that he couldn't control, Shiro cleared his throat and responded.

"I would be glad to accompany you Princess, although after today it seems that the princess and the champion are, in fact, the same person." He smiled lightly, at ease with his defeat but enjoying the needling he could give her about it.

Allura laughed again and Shiro brightened up, encouraged by her response to his little joke, and growing more at ease.

"I may have defeated you, Sir Shiro, but I would have no one else to take the mantle of Champion." She responded with a smile.

Well shit. Now he was right back to where he started, and he barely managed a response without stuttering.

"A million thanks upon you Princess. Your words mean a lot."

"I speak only the truth, sir knight. Now, are you ready to head downstairs? If we wait too long there are sure to be unsavory rumors about us." The princess extended her hand while Shiro choked up once again at her jest. She seemed to enjoy torturing him, apparently. Convinced that this was going to be along night, he straightened his armor, strapped on his sword, and took the princess's arm as they headed down to the feast.

The dinner was wonderful, as always, massively extravagant and cooked to perfection. The company was perfect as well—Allura was, in addition to a fierce warrior, very lighthearted for nobility, and spent much of the night laughing along at the usually crass stories of Shiro and the other paladins. Even Coran got in on the action, despite being the ranking official present. The King himself, unfortunately, remained confined to his bed, but with such a lighthearted atmosphere, it was easy to ignore his absence.

It eventually wound down, many long hours after the summer sun finally slipped beneath the horizon, and Shiro did his duty by escorting the princess back to her room before running into his fellow Paladins on their way to their own rooms, where he was immediately subjected to the ribbing of his life.

"Damn Shiro, you've got it _bad_." Keith started, sniggering as his friend immediately flushed.

"Oh shut up Keith. This is just cuz I lost, isn't it?"

"Oh, we'll be talking about the loss later, but this is something else." Lance broke in. "You've practically been orbiting the princess all night!"

"So? That's my job! I was supposed to be her escort for the night." Shiro defended himself, knowing it was a weak excuse but hoping they wouldn't question it.

"Oh really now? And whose idea was that? Cuz I doubt you had the guts to ask." Pidge responded, a malicious grin growing on her face. Shiro glared at her as he responded.

"It…she came up to my room and asked me to escort her, alright?" He admitted, triggering a titter of intrigued comments from his fellows.

Hunk, in his characteristically supportive way, whacked Shiro on the back. "Hey, well maybe she likes you too!"

"I don't 'like' her, Hunk, she's Alfor's daughter for Voltron's sake." Shiro rolled his eyes, though he was grateful at least one of his partners wasn't about to eat him alive for his unfortunate crush.

"You keep on telling yourself that." Lance replied with a knowing grin. "But Hunk is right, I'd say she has eyes for ya too." Shiro blushed just at the notion and received a friendly elbow to the ribs from Keith.

"You really _do_ have it bad for her." He laughed. "I didn't think I'd live to see the day the mighty Shirogane, Champion of Altea, fall to a little crush."

Shiro really didn't have a response for this, and was extremely glad when he saw the door to his room's coming up, giving him an excuse to get away.

"Well this has been fun, but I'm going to bed, and you all should too." Shiro recommended, immediately switching over to team leader mode. "Coran warned me that there's been a surge of Galra troop movement in the Eastern Woods, so we'll probably be pretty busy soon."

The Paladins groaned, not exactly looking forward to yet another battle of attrition while they were outnumbered three to one. Galra soldiers certainly weren't as well trained as the Altean warriors, but damn if there weren't a lot of them.

However their frustration wasn't enough to avoid having Pidge throwing him a parting crack as Shiro pulled his door open.

"Yeah I'm sure you'll be working real hard, _former_ Champion." Shiro just rolled his eyes and flashed her a rude gesture as he stepped into the relative privacy of his rooms. As he pulled off his plate armor—far more carefully than he acted with his combat armor, of course—he once more found his mind wandering to the princess. He groaned. This was going to become a common problem, wasn't it?

With a half-hearted attempt to think of something—anything—else, he carefully put away his armor and flopped down on the bed once again, images of the day's events running through his head again and again with one question that pervaded them all—

What the hell was he going to do now?


End file.
